Miami Sunset Senior High’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) program has its eye on making the future brighter for students in the community.
A survey revealed what 21st Century employers were looking for in new graduates. They are looking for people who can communicate, work as part of a team, and have great presentation skills. From this information a project was born, and it is called SPARK.
SPARK stands for Students of the future are Prepared, Articulate, Resourceful and Knowledgeable. SPARK is a community service project that was developed by the FBLA chapter of Miami Sunset in order to help prepare the next generation of students for what’s to come in the world of business.
The project is divided into three sections. Each section has a multi-dimensional presentation to go with the topic, a combination of a PowerPoint, skit, game, or interactive discussion. It is designed to be concise and simple for any age to understand.
“SPARK is meant for everyone, and it doesn’t just come down to business. Whether you want to be pursue the arts, technology, education, these are skills that are important no matter what career you choose,” said Amanda Gomez, president of Sunset’s FBLA.
After months of research and rehearsal, FBLA took SPARK on the road and their first stop was Jorge Mas Canosa Middle School.
“Because this is the first time our chapter has done something like this, we decided it was best to start with middle schools to see how it would turn out, and eventually branch out,” Gomez said.
The FBLA officers presented SPARK to students in sixth through eighth grades and the audience was very satisfied.
Jackie Lorente, lead teacher of the Jorge Mas Canosa Business Academy commented on the performance, saying, “It was great! I thought the presenters were very good and it was very lively in the audience because it allowed for a lot of participation.”
SPARK wasn’t just a presentation that helped the audience, it also helped the presenters of the project overcome some of their obstacles.
Hurma Aziz, a freshman FBLA member, explained her experience working on the project: “SPARK really helped me overcome my fear of public speaking. It felt great standing on that stage, connecting with the students and educating them on something that I believe is important.”
The development of SPARK took a lot of hard work, but there were also memorable moments that came along with it.
Angelina Buenaventura, a junior FBLA officer, said she had a entertaining time working on the project.
“Creating one of the scripts for SPARK was awesome,” Buenaventura said. “Screen writing is something that I enjoy doing and being apart of something and watching it come to life was very fulfilling.”
Jasmine Botello, junior FBLA Officer, added, “It was a lot of fun, practicing with the girls for our mini skit we had. The skit was meant to teach the students the do’s and don’ts of job interviews. We wanted to give it a light, funny feel, but also be effective by teaching them something useful.”
Jorge Mas Cansoa Middle School is only the beginning of what’s to come from SPARK. FBLA plans on offering other middle schools the opportunity to experience the presentation and intend to offer it to high schools next year.
“We plan on expanding the project and having more presenters to help,” Gomez said. “This is a project that we believe could have a big impact on our community.”
